A new agreement between the UK and US governments will see an increased focus on developing floating wind turbines for use in offshore areas that have substantial wind resources, but which are off-limits to fixed-structure wind turbines due to water depth.
According to UK Energy Secretary Edward Davey, offshore wind power will play a critical role in the UK’s energy future and floating wind turbines will allow the nation to better utilise its wind resources – and potentially more cheaply.
“Turbines will be able to locate in ever deeper waters where the wind is stronger but without the expense of foundations down to the seabed or having to undertake major repairs out at sea. The UK and US are both making funding available for this technology and we’re determined to work together to capitalise on this shared intent,” said Mr Davey.
The announcement was made ahead of Energy Ministers from 23 of the world’s leading economies meeting in London this week to discuss accelerating the move to clean energy technologies. The Clean Energy Ministerial will be co-chaired bySecretary Davey and US Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
The UK is home to three of the top 5 largest currently operational offshore wind farms in the world; being Walney (367MW), Thanet (300MW) and Lynn and Inner Dowsing (194MW).
According to Wikipedia, The UK currently has 1,858 MW of operational nameplate wind turbine capacity, with an additional 2,359 MW under construction. It’s estimated the UK has over a third of Europe’s total offshore wind resources.
Currently ranked as the world’s eighth largest generator of wind power; offshore and onshore wind farm capacity in the UK was an estimated 6,580 megawatts (MW) at the beginning of March 2012, with 333 operational wind farms and over 3,500 wind turbines.
Related:
The Floating Axis Wind Turbine (FAWT)
Floating solar farms
Image Credit: Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
